Trinity Bellwoods Park to Bathurst

The street seems to narrow along the stretch between Trinity Bellwoods Park at Strachan all the way to Bathurst and beyond.

Physically, it may not have lost some width, but with the sheer volume of traffic from cyclists, motorists, streetcars and pedestrians rubbing elbows here can make you feel a little claustrophobic.

Street parking is hard to come by, both for cars and for bicycles. This area is a shopping, eating, lounging and people-watching destination and on a sunny day the crowds slow their pace. Whether you throw a blanket down in Trinity Bellwoods or wait in line for a coveted table at Terroni’s the best way to get here is to ride your bicycle, just don’t expect to get that post and ring right out front.

I found these fantastic photos of the new “school buses” on Toronto Island at Sarah Rosensweet’s blog, sweet thing(s). Here’s the story behind them:

Many of you know that the Island we live on is a car-free community (about 700 people in 250 houses on one end of Toronto Island- a skinny 6 km piece of mostly parkland, a 10 minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto)

Service vehicles are allowed, including schoolbuses, but Asa’s school recently gave up their little bus. Last year the one teacher who had a bus license left the school, and instead of getting another licensed teacher, the whole school walked everyday to and from school. it is a 20+ minute walk from the ferry docks to the school- great exercise for the older kids but a bit hard for little 2 year old legs twice a day- and sometimes in heavy rain, wind, or snow.

through grants, donations, and fundraisers- like selling t-shirts and lemonade and bike-a-thons the school raised enough money to buy the cargo bike and bicycle cart (built by an Islander with a custom bike cart company)

these bikes and the commitment of the school to car-free living make me so happy!

While slightly more rural than Toronto, this video of BikeShopGirl‘s daily commute resembles much of what anyone here in the city will experience. Lack of infrastructure, short cuts where cars can’t go and tense bridge crossings are familiar territory here.

The Dufferin Jog – Gladstone to Dovercourt

Train bridges are marvels of engineering. The weight they must support is incredible. It’s no wonder that train bridges inspire us and scare us and change the landscape wherever they are built.

The Dufferin Jog, long since separated, is in its final days. Dufferin will once again connect at Queen Street.

Yet, Queen Street is still disconnected by the physical sensation of passing under these bridges. Parkdale ends in the east at the Jog, on the other side, West Queen West is taking on a new shape, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Bike life here remains a constant, even as the scenery changes almost daily.